Faun Fables - Eternal

I love this clip.   The song is great by Faun Fables, but it doesn't even start until 2 minutes into this clip.  It turns to English at about 30 seconds in, so hang on. 

This is a show in Israel interviewing Faun Fables who are known as "Freak Folk" musicians from Oakland, California.  It's like oil and water between the interviewer and the band at first.  Then they jam together!   Hilarious, as well as a chance to spread the cool song, Eternal.

"I want what is not easy, love me without adornments..."

Piana - Moon And Cello

Lovely music off Piana's album Ephemeral.  I just love all the different music I discover on Pandora!

Education, Vacation, & the Path Forward!

 My husband and I just returned two weeks ago from an amazing trip....more of a "life event" than just a vacation.


EDUCATION:

The first week we spent taking a sailing course at the Blue Water Sailing School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  We lived aboard a 43' sailboat for 6 nights along with two other students and a captain/instructor. 

www.bwss.com

This was school, not a charter where you lay about the boat all day.  9am - 5pm each day we were in "class" although it was learning as you are doing.  We were jibing and triangulating and docking and anchoring and tying knots and doing man overboard exercises and chart plotting.  There were three 100 question exams.  It was a stressful, fun, and fantastic week.

VACATION:


After our week with the Blue Water Sailing School, we flew to

www.smallhope.com

for a week of hammocking and snorkeling.  This is a funky, casual, social, super fun place is you like things laid back and quiet.  There are 21 units right on the beach and no nightclubs, shopping, high-rises, etc.  Here is our bungalow on the beach.

we went for the swimming and white sands which we got in abundance. 

However, we found more there than we were expecting: Friends!   We met some wonderful, down-to-earth, introspective, joyous people there.  What a great bonus! 


THE PATH FORWARD:


As many of you know, my husband and I have had a dream of living aboard a sailboat and sailing from place to place full time.  This is referred to as the "cruising" life.  However, neither of us had ever sailed!  So going to this school was our test to see if we really wanted to do it and if we really could physically and mentally achieve it. 

And the answer is......

YES!!!!!

So, next we have to figure out how to get from where we are now:

 A couple working full time with

a mortgage and little savings

To where we want to be:

A couple living aboard a sailboat

 and exploring the world.

Yesterday I worked out a timeline for getting from point A to point B.  It goes in four steps:

1) Refinance house so that we have smaller payments. (Complete by Dec 2012)

2) Save money and build a small cottage on our property.  Move into small house and rent out large house. (Complete by Sep 2013)

3) Save money and purchase our sailboat!!!  Moor it locally, move aboard, and rent out both houses.(Complete by Sep 2014)

4) Save money and tie up loose ends, then start our journey! (Set sail by Apr 2015)

The trick is saving the $$$ of course.  We did very well on our first budget (see my first or second blog post).  We learned to live with less.  The new budget will be even leaner.  I am working on it now and then will meet with my husband for the negotiations. 

I have lots of ideas for extreme saving that many people may see as nuts...but I just can't work my entire life to buy all the junk the media says I need.  Instead, if we forgo all the little stuff that sucks money out of our pockets, we can really save a lot and go see the world!

Some savings ideas are:

• Eliminate all beverage purchases.  We will be healthier just drinking water anyway. 
• Have only one vehicle and use the bus lines
• Get rid of cable tv and contemplate how much internet usage we really need
• Get rid of my cell phone...we got by without it up to a few years ago.
• Do not carry any credit that is charging interest....pay everything off in full monthly
• Buy clothes at thrift shops...make due with minimal clothing
• Sell all of the knick knacks and stuff we have accumulated through a lifetime
• Eat low cost, but health foods like making up soups and beans from scratch.
• Do not purchase any pre-processed products.
• Keep heat low and lights off as much as possible.
• Conserve water...turn water off while soaping up in the shower.
• Never purchase anything that is not on your shopping list...no impulse purchases.
• Keep a strict budget and follow it. 

There are lots of others.  I know you might think that the savings realized through these efforts is small, but together they add up. 

As I told a co-worker the other day, my personal brand of insanity isn't for everyone, but it definitely fits me!

 

Dog Days Are Over

 

I just can't seem to get enough of this song....and video.  Someone commented the video was like the Mad Hatter's wife had been let loose.  Let her free, I say!

This song is always so encouraging...reminds me that there is always a new day and we can always change things. 

The Trials and Tribulations...or: Why life is like a game.

Okay, I have a thought that has been coming together in my head and I am going to attempt to share it.  Hopefully I make some sense.   :)

At this point in my life, I don't think I believe in a sentient god who watches over and designs our lives.  However, the question of "Why would God let bad things happen" is one that is often put forth.  Even if there is no god/s, why do bad things happen?  Just by random chance?  

I would like to put forth the theory that we need problems, troubles, antogonists...we draw them to us.

Think about a video game.  Let's take the old Donkey Kong.  What if there was no big ape throwing barrels at you?  What if all you had to do was mosey up the ramp and save the princess?  How interesting would that game be?  Would people have spent hours playing it?  Of course not!  It would have been boring to win so easily.  We want challenge and as soon as we master that challenge, we want a harder or new challenge to master.  This is the basis of all video games.

Think about sports.  What if you played baseball by hitting the ball and then going around the bases, but no one ever tried to stop you and there were no outs.  Everyone just took their turn hitting the ball and running the bases.  Again, I just don't think the game would hold people's interest.  We crave a project, a problem, an antagonist...something to best, something to overcome.

Now, let's apply these thoughts to our lives.  I think just as we crave challenge in our play, we crave it in our lives.  When life becomes too easy, we seek more.  I think life/god/we bring problems and trouble into our lives to help us continue to learn and grow.  If there is a God, he is sending lessons.  If it is just life, then we are finding lessons.  

Finally, I think our need to learn and grow sometimes gets misdirected....we don't realize how to feed the need and so turn to drugs/sex/gossip/drama/violence/fast-living which whips itself up into a cycle that can be hard to get off.  If instead we would just try to honestly look at ourselves and find what our uniqueness is and not be afraid to be it...to explore who we are fully.  If we work on honing our positive traits and try to understand our problem areas, we would go a long way toward inner peace. 

The soul longs to learn and play.

 

New Ways

Do you ever stop to think that we spend most of our lives with some kind of audio input?  We are either watching tv or a video...or we have the radio on, are listening to an ipod or talking on the cellphone.  I am experimenting with silence in the car....turning off the radio and either singing or just being quiet.  

Yesterday was my second day of this on my commute to work.  It was an amazing difference.  The world outside my car became brighter...more in focus.   I noticed several interesting things that I would't usually notice.   I saw a man walk around a corner to find his truck covered with several ravens and he waved them off.  I noticed pedestrians on their way to work and thought about them....where they were going and what they might be thinking.   I think it makes me a better driver at the least. 

But, my mind also came up with important internal conversations that I think I usually drown out with electronic stimulus.  I thought about the fine line between supporting/encouraging your loved ones and controlling/expecting something from them. 

Now I just have to find a way to off the tv.   There is very little that I enjoy on tv, yet I watch it daily in the evenings...I think just to create a mindless time of rest after the workday.  There must be a better way to relax.   You will say I should read, which would be great but I need to get buy in from my husband.   Actually, he sometimes opts to read in the evenings and I am the one who doesn't.  I think my long years of tv have made it harder for me to keep my attention on a book.  Maybe I need to learn to crochet....a nice soothing restful task perhaps.

I'm getting free

♫ I'm getting free of all demanding
To have things my own way.
I don't have to control you,
it's not worth the price I pay.
I'm learning how to love,
I don't have to force my way.
I'm learning how to love my life,
more and more each day. ♫

My favorite Easter funnie!

Peeps!

It's time for total silliness!  Time for Peeps!  I have collected some funny peeps pictures over the years.  Here are my favorites.   My hats off to the creative minds that came up with these.



                                          The Peepsons

                                                       Marching for World Peeps

                                                            Peeps and Peppers             

                                                                  Jiffy Peeps

                                                  No Country for Old Peeps

                                                              Your Peeps on Drugs

                                                           Peep Show

                                                          Peeping Tom

                                                           Peepzilla